LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will spend their first full day as candidates Wednesday rallying Democrats across the Midwest, a politically divided region crucial to their efforts to win the White House in less than three months.
The trip, which starts in Wisconsin before moving on to Michigan, is aimed at supporting the younger, diverse and work-friendly voters who helped President Joe Biden win the 2020 election. But that coalition showed signs of fraying over the summer, particularly in Michigan, which has become the focus of Democratic divisiveness over Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
With Biden now out of the race and Harris officially the Democratic nominee, leaders of the Arab-American community and key labor unions say they are encouraged by the choice. Walz’s addition to the ticket has eased tensions, indicating to some community leaders that Harris heard their concerns about the other leading candidate for the vice presidential seat, Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, which they felt had gone too far in supporting Israel.
“The party recognizes that there is a coalition that they need to rebuild,” said Dearborn, Michigan Mayor Abdullah Hammoud. “Choosing a waltz is another sign of good faith.”
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat seeking a third term, appeared with Harris at a campaign stop last month in suburban Milwaukee and said in a fundraising message Tuesday morning that she was “thrilled to see a colleague from the Midwest atop the ticket.”
Donald Trump had similarly emphasized wooing voters in Midwestern states when he picked Ohio Senator JD Vance as his vice president. Vance will again receive the Harris-Walz ticket when he appears in the same states on Wednesday. He starts his day in Michigan before heading to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the same city where the Democratic candidates will appear hours later before heading to Michigan.
In Michigan, leaders say Democratic enthusiasm has grown since Harris announced his candidacy.
That could be key in Detroit, which is nearly 80 percent black, and where leaders had warned administration officials for months that voter apathy could cost them in a city that is typically their party’s stronghold. The Reverend Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit branch of the NAACP, said the tension in the city is now “absurd.” He compared it to Barack Obama’s first run for president in 2008, when voters waited in long lines to help elect the nation’s first black president.
But some Michigan Democratic leaders worried that picking the wrong partner could slow that momentum and fracture a coalition that has only recently begun to coalesce.
Arab American leaders, who wield great influence in Michigan due to its large presence in metro Detroit, had been vocal in their opposition to Shapiro over his past comments on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Arab American leaders specifically pointed to a comment he made earlier this year regarding protests on college campuses, which they said was unfair, comparing the actions of student protesters to those of white supremacists. Shapiro, who is Jewish, has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while remaining a staunch supporter of Israel.
“It’s definitely not anti-Semitic to criticize someone’s position on Israeli politics,” Hammoud said. “It’s just called stewardship and being responsible.”
In addition to expressing their concerns publicly, the leaders had also shared their feelings privately with the White House and Harris’ team.
Osama Siblani, publisher of the Dearborn-based Arab American News and a prominent leader in Michigan’s large Muslim community, was among those who met with White House counsel Tom Perez in Michigan last week. While in the state on official business, Perez has been in touch with some Dearborn leaders since he and other top officials traveled there with Biden to try to mend ties with the community.
Siblani said he met with Perez for more than an hour on July 29 and told him that if Harris chose Shapiro, it would “shut down” future discussions. He also relayed that message to Democratic lawmakers in Congress, including Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell.
The backlash from American Arabs and union leaders was “not the only reason he didn’t pick Shapiro, but it’s one of the main reasons,” Siblani said.
“Not selecting Shapiro is a very good move. It opens the door a little more for us,” said Siblani, who together with Hammoud emphasized that any meaningful discussion should include policy discussion.
Michigan state senator Jeremy Moss, who is Jewish, was excited about the prospect of having Shapiro as his vice-presidential running mate, but was “disturbed” by the criticism he received, as he believed many of the candidates vetted had similar views on Israel. He said he didn’t think criticism played a role in Harris’ decision and that “he’s going to pick someone based on this long game that he can work with for four to eight years.”
Still, Moss said he’s glad the Harris-Walz ticket isn’t divided and that the sense of Democratic unity is “palpable on the ground.”
The United Auto Workers, the country’s largest auto workers’ union, also followed the vice president’s election closely.
They quickly moved to support Harris after he stepped in to replace Biden, and UAW President Shawn Fain publicly said he had the right to choose his own running mate. But he also said the union, which has 370,000 members and a huge presence in Michigan and other Midwestern states, did not favor Shapiro, who had previously joined Pennsylvania Republicans in calling for an expansion of voucher programs that allow public tax dollars to flow. for private schools.
Fain had singled out Walz — among other candidates — for praise in an Aug. 2 interview with The Associated Press, saying the Minnesota governor was “a great guy, a sharp guy.” In a statement Tuesday, Fain said Walz will be a “great vice president” and that he has “stood with the working class every step of the way.”
Dingell, a Democrat with deep connections in Dearborn who has brokered talks between Biden administration officials and leaders of key Michigan constituencies, echoed those sentiments Tuesday. He said Walz’s selection would only add to the excitement at Wednesday’s rally in Detroit.
“We got someone from the Midwest, from the heartland, who really understands our problems,” Dingell said. “And she’s going to be his partner. He won’t have to look over his shoulder more than every two minutes. He’s going to be the perfect, real partner.”
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Associated Press writers Tom Krisher in Detroit and Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan contributed to this report.
